Writers Who Kill

 

How Much Are You Like One of Your Antagonists?

It is often said that writers write what they know. Today, the Writers Who Kill bloggers talk about a characteristic each shares with one of their antagonists and explains how it helps relate to the character they wrote.

Susan Van Kirk - One of my antagonists was a high school teacher like me. Unlike me, he violated a morals clause in his contract, and he decided to murder the person who was going to blab. (Actually, I guess that would be two violations, wouldn’t it?)

Annette Dashofy - Oh, this one is hard. I always try to understand my antagonist’s motivation, such as revenge, but while they respond with violence, I merely kill a character fictionally.

Grace Topping - Gosh, my antagonists were so awful, I hope I don’t share any characteristics with them. However, if I had to pick one, it would one villain’s love of amateur theater, which I enjoy. 

Mary Dutta - Holding grudges. It gives me sympathy for the antagonist, which helps make them a more rounded character.

Marilyn Levinson - I can't think of any characteristic that I share with any of my murderers.

Debra H. Goldstein – Like Jane Clark, I’m often looking for an angle, but not always succeeding.

Sarah Burr - Yvonne Finchmore can be described as an antagonist to Hazel Wickbury from my Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, and Yvonne and I are both trying to leave our mark on the world. Seeing her ambition and how she’s often villainized for it helps me write her more sympathetically and show readers that everyone has their vulnerabilities.

Nancy Eady - One of my antagonists kills her brother-in-law and his new wife because his secondhand smoking gave his first wife, her sister, cancer.  I love my family very much and can understand the need to want to hurt someone who hurts them.  

Shari Randall - Riley Rhodes, the protagonist in my Ice Cream Shop mysteries, loves to travel - and eat. So much so that she writes a blog called "Rhode Food" about all the wonderful dishes she encounters on her travels. When I go on a trip, I don't just plan on the sights I'll see, I also scope out restaurants and local dishes that I want to try.

Korina Moss - The antagonist in my next Cheese Shop Mystery, Fondue or Die, is a pageant director who is very controlling. I can relate to those controlling tendencies, as I have a hard time asking for help and sometimes think it’s just easier to do things myself. 

Heather Weidner - Good question. I am dogged when it comes to finding an answer to an issue or a quandary. I, like some of my antagonists, don’t easily give up.

Molly MacRae - I’ve carried a grudge or two and so have several of my antagonists. Understanding how a grudge has warped my perception let me imagine how a grudge carried too far overwhelmed the characters.  

Lori Roberts Herbst - I find I most enjoy writing antagonists who have a desire for revenge. I'm hoping that's not a characteristic I share, except maybe as fantasy. But I have discovered through my writing that exploring grief is important to me, and it often manifests through the antagonists. How does grief change them? How does it affect behavior? I think I've learned something about myself in processing that.

Margaret Hamilton - Seize the opportunity and run with it. Though their intentions are nefarious, my antagonists are profiting from opportunities that present themselves.

Martha Reed - I can become hyper focused when trying to achieve a goal. The goals my antagonists have are evil and warped. I use my laser focused superpower only for good. 

Lisa Malice - Felix Jager, the hit man in “Lest She Forget,” is a good cook, enjoys a good bottle of wine, and loves his pet (though I’m a dog person, and Felix has a cat). We know this from Felix’s first POV chapter where the reader meets him sitting down to a gourmet dinner to watch an old movie with his cat. Drawing on these commonalities made writing his opening POV scene easier to visualize and write a character that was not one-dimensional.

Kait Carson - Varies by story. Usually overcompensation. I want to fix things to make things better for others. My antagonists want to fix things to make themselves better.

K.M. Rockwood - A tendency to overthink negative interactions with people. Was it personal? Did I do something to trigger it? Was I wrong? Was the other person right? Will this cause lingering problems? I think I’m pretty realistic in my own life, but my antagonists are quite capable of obsessing over things and making poor decisions based on that.

James M. Jackson - I want very much to meet or exceed any commitments I have made. The Happy Reaper shares that attribute with me, although he takes it to a more intense level. His business cards have on one side, "Results Guaranteed."

Connie Berry - They all come from somewhere inside, you know. If I have to choose one, I’d say a sense of justice that may not reflect reality. Not sure I understand that statement myself.

E.B. Davis - Often my antagonists are good people caught in impossible situations, damned if they do or don’t. I’ve felt that at times in my life. Some of my antagonists are protecting others: Two kill pedophiles, another kills someone exempt from prosecution due to diplomatic immunity, a few turn the tables on their abusive significant others, another takes revenge on someone he holds responsible for his mother’s suicide.